Samsung’s ‘eyemouse’ lets anyone control computers with just their eyes
Samsung has developed the first hardware to easily allow a computer to be controlled just by looking at it, which it hopes to be made available to freely build for anyone that is unable to control a computer using their hands.
The Eyecan, which can be made using relatively cheap equipment, is to be used to help disabled people use computers. Samsung says it is hopeful that it will help improve the quality of life for those suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, known as motor neurone disease in the UK, and lock in syndrome.
“The eye mouse is not just an IT product, but limbs for the disabled,” Hyung-Jin Shin, a computer science student who was born with paralysed limbs and has been working with Samsung on the product, said at the launch, according to PC World. “Hope this kind of research will continue.”
The company released an earlier version of the Eyecan in 2012, when it said that a South Korean government body would distribute the devices across the country. The early version of the kit could be made made using a webcam, an infrared filter and LED, glasses and some batteries.
Shin has been working with Samsung to improve the device since then, and Samsung refers to the newer models as Eyecan+. The user experience and accuracy has been upgraded, Samsung said.
Samsung doesn’t plan to make money off the kit, and will only make a small amount of the devices. But by making the kit and its software open source, the company hopes that other people will be able to put them together for themselves.
The kit is a small, portable box that sits underneath thecomputer monitor and wirelessly calibrates with the users eye. It is the first unit of its kind not to require users to wear extra equipment, such as glasses.
Users sit around 60cm to 70cm away from the monitor. They calibrate the device the first time they use it, and from then on the device watches users eyes to see where it should point the mouse.
Eyecan gives users 18 commands, all of which are controlled by eye movements and blinking. They include copy, paste and select all, and additional custom commands can be added to the software.
Source: The Independent
Published: 26 Nov 2014
Category: Features, Technology & Devices
